La Chanson Perdue is an album by the American musician Geno Delafose, released in 1998.[2][3] He is credited with his band, French Rockin' Boogie.[4] Delafose considered the album to be a combination of Creole zydeco and Cajun music; however, the title of the album ("The Lost Song") in part refers to the popularity of zydeco overtaking traditional Creole music.[5][6] Delafose supported the album with a North American tour.[7]

La Chanson Perdue
Studio album by
Released1998
StudioUltrasonic Studios, New Orleans
LabelRounder[1]
ProducerScott Billington
Geno Delafose chronology
That's What I'm Talkin' About!
(1996)
La Chanson Perdue
(1998)
Everybody's Dancin'
(2003)

Production

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Recorded at Ultrasonic Studios, New Orleans, the album was produced by Scott Billington.[8][9] Delafose switched between piano accordion and diatonic button accordion.[10] Most of the songs are sung in French.[11] Christine Balfa played acoustic guitar on several songs; Dirk Powell played fiddle.[12][13]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [12]
The Baltimore Sun    [14]
MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide     [9]
Orlando Sentinel     [15]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings    [16]

The Province deemed the album "edgy and raw with all the moonshine-fuelled fire of a jam session at a back-porch crawfish boil."[17] The Orlando Sentinel noted that "Delafose is not a commanding singer, but his simple, unadorned vocals are full of the restrained longing that infuses the old Cajun and Creole tunes."[15]

The Baltimore Sun wrote that, "in Creole and Cajun French, accordionist Delafose pines away for lost love, launches lilting waltzes and kicks back with an irresistible dance beat."[14] The Wall Street Journal determined that Delafose, "perhaps zydeco's ultimate neo-traditionalist, borrows heavily from the Cajun repertoire and forges a distinctive approach that is at once rhythmic and romantic."[18]

Track listing

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No.TitleLength
1."Je Va's Jamais la Voir Encore (I'll Never See Her Again)" 
2."Bernadette" 
3."'Tite Monde (Little One)" 
4."Bon Soir Moreau (Goodnight Moreau)" 
5."Chère Ici, Chère là Bas (Dear One Here, Dear One There)" 
6."La Chanson Perdue (The Lost Song)" 
7."Une Autre Soir Ennuyante (Another Night Without You)" 
8."Mon Vrai Amour (My True Love)" 
9."Bayou Pon Pon" 
10."I Want It All" 
11."Double D Two Step" 
12."Valse de Opelousas (Opelousas Waltz)" 
13."'Quo Faire/Jolie Bassette (What to Do?/Pretty Bassette)" 
14."'Tits Yeux Noirs (Little Dark Eyes)" 
15."Save the Last Dance for Me" 

References

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  1. ^ "'Creole Cowboy' set to perform at city club". Charleston Daily Mail. 29 July 1999. p. 2D.
  2. ^ "Geno Delafose Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ^ World Music: Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific. Rough Guides Ltd. 1999. p. 566.
  4. ^ "Geno Delafose and French Rockin' Boogie, La Chanson Perdue". OffBeat.
  5. ^ Patterson, Rob. "Separate but equal". Dallas Observer.
  6. ^ Himes, Geoffrey (17 July 1998). "Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie: 'La Chanson Perdue'". The Washington Post. p. N14.
  7. ^ Wolgamott, L Kent. "Musical Smorgasbord". Ground Zero. Omaha World-Herald. p. 3.
  8. ^ Billington, Scott (June 16, 2022). Making Tracks: A Record Producer's Southern Roots Music Journey. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781496839169.
  9. ^ a b MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 2000. p. 210.
  10. ^ Seemann, Charlie (October 3, 2016). The Real Singing Cowboys. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781493022328.
  11. ^ McDonald, Sam (3 Feb 2002). "Foot-Stompin' Style". Daily Press. Newport News. p. K1.
  12. ^ a b "Geno Delafose La Chanson Perdue". AllMusic.
  13. ^ Stivale, Charles J. (June 26, 2003). Disenchanting Les Bons Temps: Identity and Authenticity in Cajun Music and Dance. Duke University Press. ISBN 0822330202.
  14. ^ a b "Geno Delafose and French Rockin' Boogie La Chanson Perdue". LIV. The Baltimore Sun. 17 Sep 1998. p. 12.
  15. ^ a b Gettelman, Parry (11 Sep 1998). "Zydeco Master Favors Tradition". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 12.
  16. ^ The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin Books. 2006. p. 161.
  17. ^ Derdeyn, Stuart (20 Aug 1998). "Cajun/Zydeco Music". The Province. p. B9.
  18. ^ Havighurst, Craig (19 Apr 1999). "Zydeco Picks Up the Beat". The Wall Street Journal. p. A20.